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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27581696">Scripts &amp; Scrids</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/ohjustdisarmalready/pseuds/ohjustdisarmalready'>ohjustdisarmalready</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Whither Then - Alternate POV, Non-Canon, and Blackstory Fics [8]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Undertale (Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Gen, Swapfell Papyrus (Undertale), Underfell Frisk (Undertale)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-05-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-09 00:15:40</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>10,034</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27581696</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/ohjustdisarmalready/pseuds/ohjustdisarmalready</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Deleted scenes from the Whither Then universe.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Frisk &amp; Papyrus &amp; Sans (Undertale), Frisk &amp; Papyrus (Undertale), Sans &amp; Sans (Undertale)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Whither Then - Alternate POV, Non-Canon, and Blackstory Fics [8]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2255990</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>20</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Table of Contents</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>As part of my 100k celebration: here are some deleted scenes! Most were cut for continuity or for not really adding anything, but they've got a few clever lines or character moments between them. Hope you enjoy!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <h3>Table of Contents:</h3>
<h6>Alt Gyftrot Chase:</h6><p><strong>Characters:</strong> Frisk, Slim<br/>
Draft of the Slim &amp; Frisk Gyftrot chase in which that's their actual first meeting</p>
<h6>SF Glyde:</h6><p><strong>Characters:</strong> Frisk, SF Glyde<br/>
Snippet of Frisk and SF Glyde interacting (cut for tone &amp; irrelevance)</p>
<h6>Continuation of Ch. 8:</h6><p><strong>Characters:</strong> Blue[berry], Red, Cozy/US Papyrus<br/>
Continuation of their first conversation, after Blue admits that Frisk was ejected from the Underswap universe.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Alt Gyftrot Chase</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>An alternate version of the Gyftrot chase in Swapfell--Frisk and Papyrus have not hung out in the woods; this takes place immediately after the conversation surrounding the convenient lamp.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Papyrus is actually kind of looking forward to meeting this human. He’s never met one before, and meeting a creature that can travel through time…that’s pretty cool, actually, if existentially challenging. He’s sort of excited about it. And Sans likes the kid already, so they’re probably alright. Sans is a skeleton with standards.</p>
<p>Besides, Papyrus has kind of a lot riding on this meeting, so he’s absolutely not thinking about the many terrible ways it could go wrong.</p>
<p>The many, many, terrible, terrible ways it could go wrong.</p>
<p>Ah, this is why he hates meeting new people…</p>
<p>He stopped by Muffet’s to get a peace offering already, plus some food for him, too. Food is the quick way to any homeless kid’s heart. Plus, breaking bread together and all; that has to count for a solid first impression, right?</p>
<p>Fuck, he wishes he’d been able to do some recon on this kid. Papyrus deals in information, normally—he never meets people with this little solid intel. And only from one source, at that; Papyrus has heard the rumors, but Sans is the only one who’s been willing to tell him anything concrete. That leaves Papyrus with some assumptions and his brother’s impression to go off of, for a meeting with a child who may very well be able to kill him.</p>
<p>He’s gone out on a limb with less before, but not happily. He can only hope this doesn’t blow up in his face, or Sans will be pissed, and not at Papyrus.</p>
<p>The kid didn’t kill Sans. Didn’t even try. That means they’re not too bad—and as long as they’re not totally evil, there’s a chance for this to work out. A good chance. This can work.</p>
<p>Now all that’s left is to find the kid.</p>
<p>Papyrus is starting out in the woods, since that seems to be where most of the rumored encounters have been. Sans suspects they’re living in Glyde’s area, but like hell is Papyrus getting near that—the outwoods are bad enough, and Glyde’s crazy enough that a FIGHT is pretty much inevitable if he gets caught snooping. That leaves Papyrus strolling casually down the main road, trying to look approachable and harmless. He doesn’t have a ton of practice at that, but he’s hoping food will make up for a lack of natural charm.</p>
<p>Sans is out here, too, somewhere, but Papyrus isn’t sure exactly where. He’ll turn up if there’s trouble.</p>
<p>Papyrus keeps an eye on the treeline and its hidden traps as he ambles down the path out from Snowdin. Nothing yet, but he hasn’t been searching long.</p>
<p>He reaches a stand of trees past the dogi’s usual hangouts and feels a weird sense of déjà vu—has he come out here already today?</p>
<p>No, he hasn’t, but he sure has seen the same stands of trees every day or two for the past several years. Things feeling cyclical and overly familiar is pretty normal in the Underground, whenever things aren’t terrifying and deadly instead. The real problems come when things are both cyclical <em>and</em> terrifying, because that’s a real mindfuck.</p>
<p>Papyrus keeps a sharp eye on the déjà vu trees just in case, but nothing else feels too off. Just a momentary sense of displacement, then. He keeps walking, in no particular hurry—the human will turn up or he’ll just keep looking.</p>
<p>Actually, there’s a familiar-sounding bellowing roar coming from up ahead. Maybe the human’s better off not showing, if Gyftrot is on the hunt. But what is it hunting?</p>
<p>He hopes it’s not the kid he’s trying to meet. Sans is gonna read him to rights like there’s no tomorrow if Papyrus gets involved in that. Gyftrot and Glyde are the two monsters in Snowdin territory that really can’t be brought down once they get aggressive, only escaped. Two-on-one, Papyrus and Sans might be able to hold their own, but it would be a toss-up for who wins.</p>
<p>People don’t get gored much these days, except around Gyftmas, because no one but Sans really uses the paths all the way out here. No one alive is dumb enough to wander through Gyftrot’s hunting grounds when it’s on the move. Unless that person happens to also be hunting something, such as a human.</p>
<p>A human who couldn’t possibly have bad enough luck to encounter Sans and then Gyftrot nearly back-to-back. Probably. Maybe.</p>
<p>They had bad enough luck to fall Underground in the first place. Hmm. And no one else should be out here, except for Sans.</p>
<p>Not looking good, either way. And Gyftrot sounds like it’s getting closer.</p>
<p>Right. Okay. Plan. Papyrus will walk over, get a close enough look to be sure Gyftrot isn’t hunting Sans, and then he’ll clear out like a sane person. Even if he’s caught, he’s got plenty of money, and it’s far away from Gyftmas. Gold should be enough to convince it to stop, probably. Or he can run like hell. Or not get caught in the first place. Papyrus has plenty of options.</p>
<p>He starts walking a touch faster than before, approaching the corner that Gyftrot must be coming closer to, too. He gets some gold out of his wallet, just in case—he didn’t bring any gifts or decorations. Since Gyftmas is so far away, he didn’t think he’d need them. Shouldn’t Gyftrot be hibernating…?</p>
<p>Papyrus rounds the bend and peeks around the corner just in time to see a kid in a black and red sweater barreling towards him at top speed. Gyftrot, looming large above them and at least thrice their size, is hot on their heels. From the remaining snow piled on it, it must have been hibernating when they woke it somehow, and now it’s out to kill whatever disturbed its rest—or anything else in its way. As he watches, it bellows furiously and snaps clean through several roadside traps in its pursuit.</p>
<p>It doesn’t look like it’s in the mood to be pacified by some gifts and decorations.</p>
<p>The hunt, Gyftrot and child and all, is bearing down on him with alarming speed, and looking terrifyingly lethal all the way, but they’re not approaching so quickly that Papyrus doesn’t have time to think. He has time for several thoughts. He uses that time to think, <em>huh</em>, and <em>that’s not good</em>, and also, <em>fuck</em>.</p>
<p>Then he’s pretty much out of time, which is good, because he’s out of thoughts except for <em>RUN, IDIOT</em>, in what sounds like his brother’s voice.</p>
<p>Welp. Life-or-death situations are good bonding experiences, right?</p>
<p>In an instant, Papyrus flings the gold coins hard down the path, and Gyftrot’s eyesight is just bad enough that it gets caught on the glimmer. Papyrus turns to run after the kid as they bolt past him, easily catching up to them on much longer legs. They’ve slowed to a jog, checking over their shoulder with concern on their face.</p>
<p>He and Sans are going to need to train them out of that. They should look at where they’re going, not the thing that’s already chasing them there. Assuming he can get them out of here alive, that is. Always good to factor that into his plans.</p>
<p>“hi, kid,” Papyrus mutters as he draws even with them in a couple of sprinted steps. He barely pauses to grab them under their arms and take them with him, tucking them to his chest along with the takeout bags he hasn’t had time to drop as he runs. Gyftrot won’t be distracted for long, if at all—Papyrus doesn’t spare the time to check.</p>
<p>The kid wriggles like they might try to escape, probably because this is sorta maybe kidnapping (benevolent kidnapping! Very friendly kidnapping! But still kinda kidnapping), but Gyftrot bellows furiously and the kid doesn’t fight him as he closes his eyes, concentrates, and takes a shortcut.</p>
<p>Not-distant-enough snarling and snuffling vanishes, replaced by the eerie quietness of the far woods near Sans’s sentry station. Sans has taken the near-wild station closest to the Ruins, of course; it’s the first place a human would come to, and the most dangerous post in Snowdin. Sans would never allow one of his minions to take that. And Papyrus is not actually a sentry, so it can’t be his, either.</p>
<p>Papyrus continues at a dead sprint on the untrapped path, listening intently. He doesn’t hear anything, and he hasn’t been gored to death yet, so Gyftrot must not have been close enough to catch the tail end of the shortcut.</p>
<p>Phew. Okay. A near miss, but not the worst scrape he’s ever been in. Thank the stars it was Papyrus and not Sans there, Sans has never quite mastered the spontaneous use of shortcuts. Sure, he’d probably have left the kid and survived when Gyftrot was busy goring them, but he also might have tried to save them and died a stupid death.</p>
<p>Not worth thinking about. Since Gyftrot hasn’t come along with them, Papyrus feels safe in slowing to a jog and then a halt near the bridge he built a gate for.</p>
<p>In retrospect, the gate is a little tall, and the net trap is too widely woven to actually stop the kid. To be fair, he thought they’d be taller. This is a pretty scrawny human clinging to him and squirming to be let down.</p>
<p>Outside of a run for both of their lives, the kid looks pretty alright—not crying or badly hurt or anything. Their HP is dinged but not even down to half. Papyrus would feel better if he could get some numbers on that, but their bar looks alright.</p>
<p>Their black-and-red sweater is in tatters—clumsily-repaired slices cover the front like someone tried to stab them right through their SOUL, and one of the sleeves is mostly missing. Even the hems are worn down, but the damage doesn’t look fresh. Their hair’s a similar mess—if it were one of Sans’s yarn balls, it would go in the ‘this will take hours to detangle, and I might have to unravel it entirely’ pile. There are leaves and pine needles caught in hair and sweater alike.</p>
<p>They have a cut on their cheek that’s barely covered by a gross old band-aid. It doesn’t leak dust, but a red liquid is slowly welling up. That must be DETERMINATION. Other than that, they’ve got scuffs and dirt marks, but don’t seem to have any fresh or lasting damage.</p>
<p>As he stops to assess them, they successfully wriggle free of his hold, and he doesn’t grab them again. They hop back a step warily, before seeming to catch themself and strolling casually back two more paces like he won’t notice how they don’t turn their back on him for a second. Their eyes are alert in their otherwise deadpan face.</p>
<p>They sure do look like a kid who’s been living in a forest for a couple of weeks. They’re gonna need a thorough scrub-down and probably a hot meal or three. Well, today’s their lucky day—Papyrus can help with all of the above, starting with the food. He saved their life, so they probably trust him now, right? Human or not, they’re a kid. Kids trust people for worse reasons.</p>
<p>Now to introduce himself. In a way that will foster trust and cooperation. Yes. Time to do that thing.</p>
<p>Papyrus had kind of hoped that it would feel more natural when the time came, but it turns out he still doesn’t know how to even start this conversation. <em>hi, i’m another skeleton monster, like the one who tried to kill you except that i am not going to try to kill you probably, you’re welcome for saving your life, let’s be pals and not kill each other to death…?</em></p>
<p>Papyrus shifts on his feet, and his takeout bag rustles.</p>
<p>Food! Right. That’s a place to start. The kid needs to recover that HP anyway, so it’s a goodwill bribe and proof that he’s a cool dude who they can totally trust. Great. Yes. He’s totally got this.</p>
<p>This is not the most important conversation of Papyrus’s life, but he’s intensely aware that it’s up there in the top ten. If he can’t convince the kid to cooperate…</p>
<p>Then he’ll try again. For Sans.</p>
<p>A touch of steel solidifies in his spine at that thought. The kid likes Sans, Sans likes the kid, and Papyrus needs to bridge them together so that nobody has to die. He’s not gonna mess it up because he can’t afford to mess it up. He’s going to introduce himself and it is going to be fine.</p>
<p>He reaches into his bag from Muffet’s with a fair imitation of his normal slouch while the kid blinks curiously at him, looking casual except for how their weight is on the balls of their feet, ready to move. Papyrus holds out his free hand in a gesture of goodwill.</p>
<p>Uh. How do you introduce yourself to kids, again? Casual, right? Calm and relaxed and cool.</p>
<p>The kid’s staring, assessing him with a look that he can’t quite read. Sans’s skill with faces would be good right about now. They’re shuffling back by inches, reaching into their inventory to touch something that they aren’t pulling out to use. Getting ready to equip a weapon, maybe, if he gets aggressive? Maybe food of their own?</p>
<p>Papyrus gives talking a try.</p>
<p>“so, that was…” he starts amiably. Or, at least, he thinks it’s amiable. He tries for amiable.</p>
<p>The kid turns tail and sprints into the woods before he can finish three words. In an instant, they’re gone from sight, headed to the near edge of Glyde’s territory. He thinks he catches them waving over their shoulder.</p>
<p>Papyrus could try to follow, but that would be a lot of running for one day. Not to mention how hunting them down after Gyftrot nearly trampled them would probably not inspire a lot of nonviolent, trusting feelings.</p>
<p>Fuck. Okay. Try one: mostly a fail. But they know his face, now, and he did save their life, which counts for something!</p>
<p>He’s not going to give up. It’s going to work. This is for Sans. He just needs to try something a little trickier next time.</p>
<p>That’s alright. Papyrus has a genius plan. After all, who can resist the call of good food and bad company?</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. SF Glyde</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Brief interaction between Frisk and SF Glyde; scrapped because it didn't say anything that couldn't be covered in a line or two of narration and I didn't like how Glyde was portrayed.</p>
<p>Also, the thematic parallels between SF Glyde and SF Sans and SF Papyrus demand more sanity and intelligence than I was attributing in this scene--Glyde isn't meant to be crazy (though he appears that way); he's meant to be reacting rationally to his understanding of the world, which has been influenced by forces beyond his control. Rationally he would be able to recognize that Frisk is not a threat most of the time, and the rest of the time he would probably be smarter about not revealing his paranoia and weak points.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The next day, Frisk wakes up bright and early and ready to face the day, so of course they see Glyde as soon as they crawl out of their cave and into the clearing above it.</p>
<p>Glyde is made of darkness and teeth—they didn’t see him very well when they first met him, but that much is still true. His fins aren’t destroyed like Fell-From Glyde’s were, but they’re dirty and beginning to go ragged. They could use a good scrubbing. His glasses are dirty, too.</p>
<p>Glyde sees them immediately, because their luck has been too good recently, and karmic balance must be restored.</p>
<p>That’s what Frisk tells themself when he cackles and swoops towards them. He’s much bigger than they are, and he’s approaching very quickly. Frisk braces and gets ready to start a FIGHT.</p>
<p>“I knew it! I found you!” Glyde crows, pulling up short a polite distance from them. Frisk pauses a moment—maybe he just wants to talk? He does like to do that, they’ve noticed.</p>
<p>“You thought you could hide. You thought you could get me! I’m smarter now, I know you’re watching. I know what you are,” Glyde snarls and loops in the air. Wind blows Frisk’s hair aside, but he doesn’t get any closer, just circling them.</p>
<p>Frisk tilts their head and points at their chest. <em>Who, me?</em></p>
<p>Glyde lets out a whistling noise that’s very nearly a scream.</p>
<p>“Don’t play games with me! You’re a fan! You’re my fan, I know it! Don’t lie to me!” He rises even farther above them, no longer in reach of the ground, and circles like a vulture. Frisk tips their head back to watch—is this what Skinny Papyrus was keeping an eye out for yesterday?</p>
<p>“You want to follow me. You want to find my home! I have it and it’s mine and you can’t go there, you can’t follow me or I’ll kill you! How did you find me? How did you follow me here?” Glyde’s circles above them get tighter and quicker, and his tail rudders flex in an agitated motion. He summons bullets, but he hasn’t attacked them yet.</p>
<p>Okay, okay. Talking. How did Frisk follow him…? He seems to not want them here. He doesn’t want them to be his fan, maybe? Or is he being backwards about it and he does want them to be stalking him?</p>
<p>Frisk decides to try the honest approach first and hope it’s endearing.</p>
<p>Frisk waves a hand above their head to try to catch his attention away from his ramping paranoia. They point, broadly and clearly, at themself, and then shake their head.</p>
<p>“What are you doing? What is that? Stop it, stop moving like that! Tell me where the others are. I know there are more of you,” Glyde accuses. A rough bullet pattern traces itself around Frisk—none of Black Sans’s precise, clustered attacks; more of a broad flurry that disrupts the snow without hurting them. It’s intimidation.</p>
<p>Frisk cowers and whimpers in exaggerated fear. They cover their head with their arms and crouch down small. <em>Look, I’m scared, you’re scaring me, you don’t actually need to hurt me</em>, they try to convey.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Continuation of Ch. 8</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>This is non-canonical--the characterization for Red didn't feel right, and I felt like if it continued, it would give away too much information prematurely. It picks up after the first conversation between Red, Blue and Cozy/US Papyrus cuts off in the main narrative, just after Blue admits that Frisk was ejected from the Underswap universe.</p><p>In actuality, I think Red would be angrier and less able to use that anger constructively/forestall explosions until he gets what he wants. That conversation wrapped up without much more useful information passing through, and then several conversations later they started making genuine progress.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“so. let me get this straight.” Red looks tired and sweaty through the monitor, but he’s calmed down. Somewhat at the expense of his machine, it looks like—there are a couple of sparking holes from what Papyrus can see behind him.</p><p>“you…<em>tripped</em>. and you <em>happened</em> to lose the kid,” Red grits out. “you just. accidentally. tripped. and opened a <em>portal to another world, by accident</em>.”</p><p>He seems a little manic still, so Papyrus’s newly-nicknamed brother Blueberry interrupts, “Well! Yes, sort of. But I think that might make sense, actually, if you think about it!”</p><p>Red scowls. “how.”</p><p>Papyrus doesn’t want to agree with Red, but would actually like to know how that would work, too, while Blueberry is explaining it.</p><p>“Well, if Frisk was from another world…then maybe they’re sort of, already loose? When the Barrier went down,” Red twitches at the mention of the Barrier, and his expression becomes a touch more strained. A little like Blueberry when he’s annoyed, actually. “and we all woke up afterwards, I had this weird feeling? Like, like someone was pulling me along, or…like when you’re swimming in Waterfall, and Alphys swims by in the same direction, and the current just pulls you right behind her! Like that!”</p><p>That’s what Blueberry said last night, too, Papyrus remembers. He just as quickly backtracked and said he must have been imagining it, but he remembers being pulled, he said.</p><p>Knowing Blueberry, Papyrus is gonna believe whichever version of the story makes his brother least responsible. Sans is always trying to take responsibility for things he shouldn’t need to.</p><p>“So! Maybe, since Frisk came here from somewhere else when they were really badly hurt, then when something really similar happened, they just…kept going?” Blueberry suggests.</p><p>“they were hurt?” Red’s scowl disappears, replaced by sharp attention.</p><p>Papyrus isn’t sure what to make of that. He mostly doesn’t trust it, to be honest. So far, Red is the version of his brother that’s a dirty liar.</p><p>The look on his face is intense, but mostly inscrutable. Damn Sans’s poker face—Blueberry rarely uses it, but it seems like Red’s can be bulletproof.</p><p>Blueberry scratches his chin. “Well…”</p><p>He taps his foot like he always does when he’s uncomfortable. Red remains still on the monitor, watching. If not for the sparks in the background, Papyrus would think the feed froze.</p><p>“To be honest…we don’t know!” says Blueberry. “We were all so happy that the Barrier was down, and Frisk wasn’t dead, so I guess we just…forgot to check them?”</p><p>And Frisk wouldn’t tell anyone that they were hurt, of course—Blueberry mentioned a time or two Underground when they’d been missing HP and refused healing, or just wouldn’t let him see where they were hurt physically.</p><p>Another strike against Red; who the hell teaches kids to hide their wounds? That makes a couple dozen against Red and <em>maybe</em> one against Blueberry, for the whole accidentally-sending-them-to-another-universe thing. Maybe. It sounds like that kind of wasn’t his fault, which is a huge relief for Papyrus, personally.</p><p>It wasn’t easy, thinking he’d been accessory to the accidental killing of one of his best friends. Only friends. Same thing.</p><p>“…you forgot that taking down the barrier was supposed to kill them,” Red says flatly. “and then you tripped, and brought down at least seven fundamental laws of physics—laws that that took <em>years</em> of study for me to bend a little bit. but you did it. by mistake. and they just <em>went somewhere else</em>?”</p><p>He bares his teeth. It’s jarring—even beyond the uncanny valley of his face being not-quite-Blueberry’s, seeing an alternate version of his brother who’s so <em>hateful</em> just seems wrong. Blueberry is forgiving to a fault; Red might see forgiveness as a fault. Papyrus can’t say he likes it.</p><p>“you know, if you weren’t the version of me that’s fucking useless, i’d say that’s a real thin cover for killing an innocent kid,” Red says. Papyrus feels like he should take offense, but he’s not sure he and his brother want to be what Red would consider ‘not useless.’ “but, what the hell. let’s say i believe you. kid broke the barrier, everything was fine, you all walked out of there. goodie for you. then what?”</p><p>They’ve been over this at least three times. Papyrus is beginning to get this feeling like Red doesn’t trust them very much; like he’s trying to find holes in their story.</p><p>Unfortunately for Red, he’s not gonna find anything. Papyrus should know—he’s looked, too.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Alt opening of Ch. 18: You've Gotta Chase it Sometimes</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>This is a longer, more cerebral opening for chapter 18, the chapter in which [SPOILERS] Black and Frisk have their confrontation with Gyftrot and Frisk uses the bone attack. Affectionately referred to as the philosophical bullshit introduction.</p><p>Ultimately it was cut for being a tease (too much happens between the opening and the scene it refers to, which is frustrating; the tension it adds makes the actual climax of the chapter feel cheap and scripted), as well as being a much more distant POV than usual--Frisk seems to speak from a somewhat omniscient perspective, knowing what will happen and how they'll come to feel about it in the future. I try to keep most of the story grounded in time and physical detail, and stepping outside of time and circumstance to philosophize doesn't really serve that ideal.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Frisk is not a pacifist.</p><p>They remember their brother telling them what the word pacifist means: it’s an idea of a person who won’t ever fight under any circumstances. It’s a word for a dream. It’s not real.</p><p>Even if a person tries so, so hard not to hurt anybody, even if they have no desire to kill and never have, that doesn’t make them a pacifist. A pacifist is a person who can stand to do nothing, even when that’s the worst choice they can make. Even when it’s unforgivable.</p><p>That’s not Frisk. That’s not anyone. No one is capable of being a pacifist, and that’s why pacifists don’t exist.</p><p>Some day, their brother explained to them, a time will come where they have a choice between the lives of their family and the life of a stranger. Some day, they’re not going to have time to make friends with their enemies. Even if they won’t protect their own life, as long as there’s anything in the world that they want to keep safe, there’s something that will eventually make them hurt someone else.</p><p>It’s not a bad thing, he said. It doesn’t make them a bad person. Sometimes LOVE is the price of love.</p><p>So Frisk isn’t a pacifist. They know that their brothers kill people. They know—they knew—that one day, they would probably kill someone. If Papyrus is a murderer, then it must not be possible not to kill anyone. If Sans is a murderer, then being a murderer can’t mean that a person is bad. They accepted that. Everyone in their home world accepted that, every time they left the house, they might not come back. They might come back with dust on their hands.</p><p>In the end, work still needed to be done, food put on the table, bills paid; and whatever fragile order they could find in their lives needed to be kept. Life either went on or was cut short. Frisk accepts that. They get up in the morning and make new friends, and they haven’t ever been forced to kill someone yet. No matter how hard, there’s always been a peaceful way.</p><p>For a while, after the Long Fall and losing their world, it looked like Frisk’s time to kill someone wouldn’t come. It hadn’t really occurred to them to think about that, at first, but in Dancing World they learned so many ways to make a FIGHT into something collaborative and passionate and pretty, and they wondered, a little.</p><p>Beauty is the opposite of pain. More than that, it’s the opposite of LOVE. If the arena of violence, the system that encourages killing, can become a form of art that two people make together with their whole hearts…then…?</p><p>They wondered, but they didn’t really believe it. It’s been a certainty for so long, that Frisk will one day join their brothers in the ranks of ordinary people. That Frisk will feel a real, living person turn to dust in front of them, and they won’t go back to stop it, because there’s just no other way.</p><p>Frisk accepted this a long time ago. They can’t really remember a time when they hadn’t accepted it. It’s always just been true, in the back of their mind—if it hasn’t happened yet, then it’s just that it hasn’t happened <em>yet</em>. The world is how it is, and Frisk cares about the people in it, and so Frisk will one day choose to FIGHT.</p><p>And then they’ll come right back home to their brothers and do what they need to do, say what they need to say, wash the dust off their hands, cry or scream or curl up and hide for a while. Sans and Papyrus will protect them. Sans and Papyrus both remember their own first kills, and they’ll help Frisk through theirs. The very first time, Frisk will be safe and home and surrounded by family while they work through what they’ve needed to do to survive.</p><p>Their brothers will still know them, still recognize them after the fact.</p><p>Frisk will change, and Frisk will hurt. Frisk will do things that hurt them so badly that they may never forgive themself for a necessary evil. But their brothers’ love for them won’t change. They’ll still be Sans and Papyrus’s sibling. On the worst day of their life, no matter what they’ve done; as long as Sans and Papyrus are alive, Frisk will have a warm home with its door open for them.</p><p>Far in the future, Frisk will want to think that these things all passed through their mind. That they considered love, and LOVE, and family, and what they had and what they’d lost. They will project back a well-reasoned decision over the frantic, knee-jerk reality.</p><p>They will reason that they accepted all possible outcomes. They will decide that the first time they truly, intentionally chose to harm another person, they knew what they were doing and were certain of their choice. Frisk will remember themself as being certain and deliberate. As having made the right choice—the only choice. Perhaps there were better outcomes, or ways to avoid the whole situation, but the choice to FIGHT was a conscious one, made after considering who they are, what they love.</p><p>The reality is this: [begin chapter 18]</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>This does serve as a sort of bookmark into Frisk's head regarding pacifism--in a Fell universe, a killer isn't so much a murderer they are a regular person. Thus, even a person who hasn't killed anyone would be raised to expect that that's a temporary state, and they shouldn't attach too much of their self-worth to it.</p><p>People outside of Frisk absolutely do ascribe pacifism to them, and they're not totally wrong. Frisk's actions are nonviolent to the extreme. But in their own head, Frisk tries to think of killing how someone who survived a traumatic car wreck would think of driving--an unpleasant but necessary coming of age experience that they can't avoid forever (but they'll absolutely try). Does that make sense?</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. The original chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Chapter 1 was heavily edited for coherency in October 2020. This is what it originally looked like, prior to then. The content is generally the same, but shorter and choppier.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“…so,” Sans says. “got through the core. looks like your journey’s almost over, huh?”</p><p>Frisk shrugs one shoulder. This restaurant is very…intimidating. They kind of wish Sans had asked them to have dinner at home, or at Grillby’s, instead.</p><p>“…you must really wanna go home.”</p><p>How did he know…? Frisk clenches a fist and puts on their most determined face. They do really want to turn around and go back to Snowdin, but they have to do this.</p><p>Sans’s golden tooth glitters in the candlelight as he looks away from them.</p><p>“i get that,” he says. “this world...it’s been pretty tough on you, hasn’t it? even as determined as you are…someone like you…”</p><p>He chuckles. “heh. well, i’d have said that this world would change you by now. or kill you. but that’s not how it went, is it? no matter what happened, no matter how many times someone tried to teach you it was ‘kill or be killed’…you still wouldn’t do it, would you? you’re still…you.”</p><p>Frisk nods. They are, as far as they are aware, still Frisk.</p><p>“heh-heh. boss used to be a lot like you, you know?” Sans asks.</p><p>Frisk frowns in puzzlement. Papyrus seems a little too…<em>cool</em> to be like them, right? He’s so nice, even though he’s kind of silly and tries to pretend he’s not. They know the truth. He even taught them how to use a bone to test out the snow for landmines before he put them through his landmine trap!</p><p>Unfortunately, they didn’t have any bones to spare, so they might have gotten blown up a lot if he hadn’t walked through it himself on accident, showing a clear path for them to take.</p><p>Frisk doesn’t do anything like that. They’ve never even made a landmine trap, and they don’t have any other humans to show around it even if they did. They’re nowhere near as cool as Papyrus.</p><p>“yeah,” Sans says. “it’s kind of hard to believe now, isn’t it? but he used to be…kind of a weakling, actually.”</p><p>A bead of sweat appears on his forehead as he glances around furtively. There’s still no one else in the restaurant.</p><p>“not that he wasn’t strong. boss’s always been wicked strong, and he’s got crazy good control of his magic. not a lot of people with his kind of power go for refinement, ‘cause why bother if you can vaporize your opponent in a second, right? but paps isn’t like that. he’s always wanted to be the best he can be.” He seems, for a moment, almost proud of his brother before he catches himself.</p><p>“…anyway. what i’m saying is, my bro used to try to solve things by talking them out, like you do. he thought every fight had a peaceful solution. isn’t that neat?”</p><p>Frisk tells him that it is.</p><p>“yeah, that’s what i used to think. but…in a world like this one…that kind of attitude ends up running you into trouble, doesn’t it? and without that human determination to back it up…” Sans shrugs offhandedly. “welp. he’s not like that anymore. kinda sad if you think about it, but, eh. a person like who boss used to be, with ideals and mercy…they’re gonna break or die. at least with all that stamped out of ‘im, he’s stronger, right? finally got over the fantasy.”</p><p>He pauses, and catches Frisk’s eye.</p><p>“at least, that’s what i thought. and then you came around.”</p><p>Frisk’s brow furrows and their head cocks. They certainly haven’t noticed Papyrus changing that much. In fact, it seems to Frisk that he’s always been cool and nice and brave. It kind of seems like right now Sans is, as he often is, full of shit.</p><p>Sans, seeming to sense their thoughts, smiles. “heh. don’t believe me, do you?” he asks.</p><p>“well. maybe what paps needed all along was for someone to believe in him, huh? someone who wouldn’t buy into his ‘great and terrible’ schtick. someone who wouldn’t give up on him. ‘cause who he is around you, kiddo…s’like seein’ my brother, for the first time in a long time.” Sans looks kind of sad. Kind of happy, too. Nostalgic? Regretful? Grateful?</p><p>The table is way too big for Frisk to reach across it, so they just sort of pat its surface to approximate patting Sans’s hand. As always, his hands are laced over where a human would have a stomach, left hand on top.</p><p>The first time he noticed them trying to copy him, he’d tried to show them how to move from that relaxed position to having their hands free and ready for battle in an instant. Unfortunately, Frisk has too much flesh for it to really work, and also doesn’t have magic that they could use with their hands once they’re free. He’d told them to stick with holding their weapon, and handed them another bone attack to conveniently ‘forget’ to use.</p><p>Sans does glance up when they pat the table, and his eyes widen a little bit, before fading into that fond, private grin he only does when there’s no one else around.</p><p>“are you trying to…uh, ‘comfort’ me? ah, that’s, hah, that’s ok, kiddo. that’s…that ship’s sailed long ago. i didn’t do enough for paps when he needed me…so now he doesn’t need me anymore,” he says matter-of-factly. Frisk can tell it makes him sad, though.</p><p>“it’s ok. i’m really…proud of him, you know? even if he isn’t really who he was when we were baby bones…who he is since you came down here…i feel like that’s someone he likes a lot more than the ‘great and terrible’ papyrus.” Sans smiles brightly, even though he looks a little tired. “my bro’s happier since making friends with you than i’ve seen him in a long time. a lot of folks are.”</p><p>Frisk smiles back as hard as they can. It’s hard for them to imagine that their new friends are actually any different after meeting them, deep down inside—surely, Papyrus must have wanted to be who he is today very badly already. He didn’t like yelling at Sans and the dogi or blowing people up with his traps. He just needed someone to let him know it was OK to not do that. Besides, it’s not like he was fooling anyone, anyway—Papyrus is really sweet, and responsible, and passionate! Anyone can see that!</p><p>Sans must see Frisk’s thoughts on their face, or their puffed-out cheeks, because he shrugs and slumps lazily.</p><p>“eh, believe me or don’t, kiddo, but you’ve made a real impact on us here. no matter what you do from here on out, this place is changing. you’ve done something i never could. you should be proud of that, you know?”</p><p>He tilts his head.</p><p>“or don’t be. i mean, it’s up to you. ‘f i were you, i woulda gave up on this place a long time ago.” He sighs…somehow.</p><p>“anyways. i guess what i’m trying to say is…you did it, ok? if what you wanted was to change things around here, great. you did it. you’re doing it. with every day you’re still alive, we can all see…” He falters, for a moment, looking away; but recovers quickly and he’s smiling that private smile again in an instant. He’s also sweating. “we can all see hope. it’s starting to grow down here again.”</p><p>Frisk nods firmly, because Sans seems really nervous saying stuff like this and they want to reassure him.</p><p>Stuff like this is why they can’t just go home to Snowdin. Sans is always showing up in weird places and shuffling them off back home to Papyrus, or setting them up on the couch while he naps so they can’t move without waking him up, or just dumping them in “<strike>The Capture Zone</strike>/<strike>our garage</strike>/The Human’s House” and disappearing again. It’s made getting to the palace take <em>forever</em>, especially since they don’t want to take their chances with the River Person.</p><p>At least backtracking so much has let them really get to know every monster in the Underground. They never would have found out Aaron was afraid of ghosts without running through Waterfall a seventh time. And Sans is much nicer about bundling them back to Snowdin than their other method of “going backwards,” so to speak.</p><p>But that’s exactly why Frisk has to keep going. Sans is always certain they’ll get killed as soon as they leave his sight (and he’s often right), but Frisk always finds a way to make friends eventually. They always find in the end that the monsters they meet needed to talk to someone who would listen and care about them and show them MERCY. They’re certain that the King is no exception, and past him, the Barrier needs to fall.</p><p>Monsters, as hard as they try, aren’t evil; they’re just trapped. People who are trapped somewhere they don’t like go a little crazy over time. Whatever hope any of the monsters are getting from Frisk being around—which is surely not as great as Sans thinks, but maybe someone out there is a little happy they’re here—it’s temporary. Frisk is…always temporary, for people.</p><p>Bringing down the Barrier will last. Bringing down the Barrier will mean Papyrus doesn’t need to yell and act mean anymore. Undyne won’t be so afraid of everyone losing hope. Mettaton will get to have human fans. Alphys can…probably still be a shut-in, but she won’t have to do DETERMINATION experiments to try to break the Barrier anymore. Flowey can see the sun again. Ms. Toriel can stop being so scared of her children dying.</p><p>Once Frisk figures out how to break the Barrier, all their friends won’t have to be sad and scared anymore. And <em>then</em> Sans will see that monsters aren’t as bad as he thinks they are.</p><p>Frisk isn’t sure why Sans thinks monsterkind is so evil, but they’ll prove him wrong. They’ll show him that monsters can be good, and that they deserve to be free.</p><p>They’re filled with DETERMINATION.</p><p>“in light of all that, kiddo, let me, uh, let me make a suggestion for you,” Sans says.</p><p>Frick tilts their head so he knows they’re listening.</p><p>“you gotta listen if i do, ok? you gotta promise to really think about it before you decide. ‘cause…it’s pretty important that you make the right choice. you ready?” he asks. He’s scratching at the back of his hands. Frisk thinks his bones might be rattling, a little bit.</p><p>Frisk nods solemnly, folding their hands on the table in front of them and standing up straight to show they’re paying attention. They kind of think Sans might be setting up a joke, but if he’s not they want to really listen to him. He hasn’t really let them help him with anything yet—he always says they’re helping enough already, or that he doesn’t really want to spend the effort to FIGHT them.</p><p>Sans nods back at them, and seems to settle a little bit. He isn’t sweating as much anymore. He seems pretty resolved.</p><p>“D o n ’ t .” Sans says.</p><p>Frisk tilts their head to the other side.</p><p>Sans’s eyes have disappeared.</p><p>Then Sans is giving them a cheery, sharp smile, like nothing ever happened. His eyes are lidded so they can’t see whether his lights are back or not.</p><p>“that’s my suggestion. just don’t. i know you wanna do what you have to do, but…you’ve got what you need here. the king won’t come get you as long as you’re safe in snowdin. why bother ‘progressing’? just give up. stay. keep making the underground a better place. we’ll take care of ya, kiddo. it’s been kinda nice havin’ you around. what you want to do…it’s not worth it. so just, don’t.” Sans relaxes as he talks, the minute tremors in his bones settling as his voice smooths over their future. He’s totally friendly…totally unreadable. Caught somewhere between big-brother soft and snake-oil slick.</p><p>Frisk trusts Sans…they trust that he’s a good person, even though he’s judged himself and all of monsterkind to be evil. Even when he sometimes killed them with his pranks, his intentions were good, they’re sure; and he doesn’t do that anymore. Not for a long time.</p><p>They aren’t sure why he does some of the things he does because he won’t tell them what he’s really thinking most of the time. Monsters only really seem to communicate that kind of stuff after a FIGHT. But Frisk <em>knows</em> Sans is a good person. They know it with their heart, the same as they knew Papyrus is really cool and fun, and the same way they knew if they ate Miss Toriel’s pie they would never be able to leave her. They know.</p><p>They also know that good people are sometimes wrong.</p><p>“welp. think on it,” Sans says. “when you wanna come back to snowdin, we’ll be waiting for you. heh, maybe over dinner you can finally tell us your name, huh, human? never did get to that before.”</p><p>Sans shrugs. “one way or another, my break’s almost over. gotta get back to work. seeya soon, human.”</p><p>He wanders off and vanishes, just like that. Frisk knows he didn’t leave them with a bill, because the punishment for not being able to pay for your table is, of course, death. They don’t think the spare change and lunch money monsters have been bullying them into taking for allowance would cover anything in this place.</p><p>…they want to take him up on it, a little bit. A tiny, wailing part of Frisk says they’re <em>scared</em> and they’re <em>tired</em> and they want to go <em>home</em> and let Papyrus and Sans mother-hen them until they die peacefully of old age. Maybe no one would mind one extra, weird, fleshy skeleton in Snowdin. Maybe this could be Frisk’s Forever Home.</p><p>The more they fantasize, the more real the fantasy seems…but it’s always just out of reach. <em>You cannot give up just yet,</em> a voice seems to tell them, carrying them out of the dream. <em>You are the future of humans and monsters!</em></p><p>Frisk needs to bring down the Barrier. They need to.</p><p>If…somehow, Sans and Papyrus still want them after that…Frisk will try. They’ll try to make a home on the Surface with their monster family, and Miss Toriel can visit if she promises not to burn them alive or make them into pie.</p><p>The thought gives them DETERMINATION.</p><p>Yes, they’ll try that out. That dream will help them get through the rough times they’re sure to have ahead of them, bringing down the Barrier. They’ll share it with Flowey, once he meets up with them in the castle. As soon as the Barrier is down, the first thing they’ll do is go back to Snowdin and tell Sans ‘Yes.’</p><p>‘Yes, I want to stay, please keep me forever.’</p><p>…they just have to bring the Barrier down, first.</p><p>It’s a good thing Sans is lazier—and a good deal saner—than Toriel. It would suck if he freaked out and tried to kill them to keep them from progressing.</p><p>Trying to imagine Sans in Miss Toriel’s shoes, threatening to bake them into a quiche so they’ll never meet the King, is a funny enough mental image to make Frisk giggle and shake their head on their way out of the restaurant. What a silly thought. They’ll have to tell Sans and Papyrus about it later, and they’ll all have a good laugh.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. The original chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Chapter 2 was entirely rewritten, with very little kept from the first two thirds or so. This is what it originally looked like.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Reasons for scrapping:<br/>-Red's motivations are unclear, and I later decided that keeping Red's motives ambiguous as a source of tension was unsustainable unless he's actually in the narrative to drive that tension<br/>-I wanted Frisk to start out more confident that Red wouldn't hurt them<br/>-Needed to add references to parts of Underfell that will be followed up on later<br/>-Wanted to add in a note clarifying Frisk's age<br/>-Red taking the time to explain his whole position as Judge and how that relates to Frisk was fun, but didn't add much to the narrative, since it's never brought up again in the main fic. Also, since we don't know for sure that Red actually does care about Frisk at this point, it cheapens the loss of that relationship by implying it was mostly strategic on Red's part.<br/>-I've become a better writer in the past year and wanted my introductory chapters to be up to par</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>There’s a long, golden hallway in front of Frisk. It’s filled with large, golden pillars; beautiful stained glass; neat, square tiles; a warm light that seems bright and absolute and brings out deep, deep shadows; Sans…</p><p>Huh. This might be where the gold for Sans’s tooth comes from. It’s so bright and yellow in any lighting, it seems to take the light with it. Maybe he stole part of one of the pillars.</p><p>…what is Sans doing all the way out here? Frisk hopes he won’t pop them back to Snowdin again. It’s already taken so many tries just to get this far. Maybe Mettaton would give them a ride back to one of his sets near the CORE…?</p><p>Sans flicks his cigarette to the side. Frisk is tempted to tattle to Papyrus; he hates when Sans smokes those.</p><p>“heya, kiddo,” Sans says. “long time no see.”</p><p>Frisk tilts their head. They saw him at the restaurant about an hour ago. They haven’t even died since.</p><p>“well, time is relative. anyway. i take it this means you’re not taking me up on my offer? last chance to rethink,” Sans says.</p><p>Frisk smiles at him. It was really nice of him to offer for them to stay in Snowdin…but they can’t stop before they find a way to take down the barrier. Once this is all done, they’ll ask him and Papyrus if maybe they can stay. They shake their head.</p><p>Sans sighs. He seems honestly disappointed. He gets up from where he’s been slouching on a pillar for who knows how long (probably an hour), and with two short strides, stands in the center of the hallway across from them, hands still in his pockets.</p><p>“you sure, kiddo? nothing i can do to change your mind?” he asks.</p><p>Frisk shakes their head again. Even if they tried, that voice in the back of their head would drive them forward eventually. It’s probably better just to get it over with.</p><p>“welp. normally, this is when i’d do your judgement.” Sans shuts his eyes and leans back as if there were a wall to support him. “but, i already know how this is gonna go. no matter what i say…it’s not gonna matter, is it? a person like you isn’t gonna just turn around.”</p><p>Frisk’s brow furrows. That sounds like they don’t care about what Sans has to say. They do care. They care a lot.</p><p>Sans’s eyes pop back open. “what, you want me to do it anyway? no, thanks. there’s a lot that goes into this stuff. …i’ll give you the short version, ok?”</p><p>Frisk nods hesitantly. They’re not sure what exactly they’re getting the short version <em>of</em>, so they’re not really sure what to say.</p><p>“hey, no need to look so worried. it’s only your life, the future of your species, and the future of mine we’re talking about. don’t fret.” Sans’s grin is empty. “so. monsterkind…is pretty evil.”</p><p>Frisk frowns decisively and shakes their head, but Sans is looking beyond them.</p><p>“we kill each other, dust anyone too weak or too gentle to survive. when we do have resources, we hoard them away and murder anyone who looks too close—when we don’t, we fight to the death about it. EXP and LOVE are all that matter—more than life, more than family. ever since we got locked away in this hellhole, it’s only gotten worse. there’s no salvation for monsterkind now. if there ever was.” Sans speaks dispassionately, eyes roaming along the wall and windows as if he can see each and every monster he’s condemning.</p><p>“if you pass this hallway, you will go to the castle. you will die. king asgore will take your soul and destroy humanity. monsters will be free and on the surface, with all the space and sunlight we can ask for—and we’ll just keep on killing each other, just like we do here. only difference is, one more innocent life will be lost to get us up there. monsters won’t change. LOVE and EXP don’t just go away with a little sunshine.”</p><p>Frisk is beginning to think that Sans has some self-hatred issues. They want to give him a hug and tell him that he’s not that bad. He’s holding himself in a very particular way, though, that makes them think that he’s not really seeing them, and he probably wouldn’t be happy if they stepped any closer.</p><p>“but. and here’s the tough thing,” Sans says, “if i turn you around and pop you back to snowdin, you’ll just come right back here, won’t you? and one day, you’ll find a way through. king asgore still takes your soul, still destroys humanity. i’ve still failed as a judge. i’ve let all of monsterkind pass by my hall with dust enough to choke on on their hands, and not done shit to stop them.”</p><p>He glances to the side, sockets drooping as if he had eyebrows to lower. His grin remains.</p><p>“so, you see where i’m stuck, here. monsterkind will never reach the surface if i’m around to stop it. but how do i stop all monsters? it’s easy enough when there aren’t enough human souls to destroy the barrier, but once there are seven in the game…”</p><p>Sans shifts restlessly, eyes narrowing. “i can’t get to the human souls we’ve already got to destroy them; they’re hidden away and i can’t get to ‘em. i can’t guarantee that killing asgore would fix anything—someone else would take his place, and they’ll be just as bad. strengthening the barrier would be kinda fucked up, ‘cause if a human did happen to fall who deserved to be free, they wouldn’t be able to escape. the only thing i can use is the one human soul i do have access to. that makes it…kinda my job to keep anyone from absorbing your soul. get it?”</p><p>Frisk is not entirely sure they get it, but it sounds like Sans is explaining why he doesn’t want them to die. Or, maybe why he didn’t want them to die at first, before they made friends with him? Even though he killed them a few times back then…still. They’re not sure why he needs such an elaborate excuse to not want someone dead. Frisk wants people not to die all the time, for pretty much no reason. They definitely don’t need to hate their whole species for it.</p><p>Sans shrugs and says, “so here i’ve got a dilemma. i’ll give it to you straight: you won’t go back to snowdin and sit tight and let me keep you alive, so you’re definitely gonna die at some point, probably soon. my judgement on monsters is that they’re stuck here forever, so i can’t let anyone absorb your soul. and i’m the only monster who i know for sure <em>isn’t</em> gonna absorb your soul, which means that wherever you die, you’d better be totally removed from everyone, or right next to me. so, you know, i’ve been protecting you.”</p><p>Frisk shifts uncertainly. Is Sans trying to say he’s just been their friend because they’re human…?</p><p>No. No, Sans is nice, and he cares about them. He offered to let them stay with him and Papyrus. He wouldn’t have done that if he didn’t like them, right? He wouldn’t just pretend to be their friend. He’s their real friend. Besides Flowey, he’s their best friend. Sometimes he says weird stuff and pretends not to like them, but that’s because Sans doesn’t know how to be friends very well. He’s just learning.</p><p>A little voice in the back of their head tells them that when Sans used to kill them with his pranks, from the start, it was always when no one else was around. No one to pretend for. Just like there’s no one around right now.</p><p><em>No</em>, Frisk tells that voice. <em>No, Sans is nice. He’s kind of saying that he wants to be there when I die, so I won’t be alone, sort of. Or, maybe he’s saying he doesn’t want me to die around monsters that would absorb my SOUL, which is good. He’s protecting me. He cares about me.</em></p><p>Oblivious <strike>or uncaring</strike> to their internal argument, Sans continues explaining.</p><p>“i thought about getting you out of the underground,” <em>See, he doesn’t want me to die!</em> “but that ain’t happenin’, ‘cause you won’t absorb a boss monster’s soul even if i killed them for you.”</p><p>That’s true. Frisk nods in agreement. Sans doesn’t trust the Underground, so he wanted Frisk to not be here, but they wouldn’t absorb someone’s SOUL no matter what. This is something Sans is saying that makes sense.</p><p>“so. where i’m at. sooner or later—probably sooner—you’re gonna die underground. i need to make sure it’s away from anyone who’ll take your soul, and make sure your determination doesn’t have you sticking around to get found after. are ya pickin’ up what i’m puttin’ down?” Sans has removed his hands from his pockets and laced them in front of him again. He pins Frisk with a sharp look.</p><p>Frisk…doesn’t think they are picking up what he’s putting down. They get the problem, sort of—Sans is saying that he’s worried about their SOUL in a really weird and kind of scary way. He does that. But they don’t get what Sans is saying they should do about it. The voice in the back of their head insists that they do understand what he wants, but they don’t.</p><p>Maybe Sans is saying all this stuff because he’s not sure what to do, either. Frisk takes a step forward, gestures to themself, and points down the hall past Sans. The only answer is to keep going.</p><p>Sans’s grin gets a touch more strained.</p><p>“anyone ever told you you’re a stubborn little shit?” he asks, sounding almost impressed. “look, be a good human and just cooperate for a sec, ok? ‘cause i spent a lot of effort on this.”</p><p>Frisk nods hesitantly. Maybe Sans does have his own solution in mind? Or maybe he wants to shortcut them to the King’s palace? They take another step and hold out their hand so he can take it.</p><p>Sans pinches his sockets shut in disbelief, rubbing between them.</p><p>“like a lamb to the fuckin’…” He shakes his head.</p><p>Seeing that he is not going to take their hand, Frisk trots forward another hesitant step. Something about this conversation feels off. The voice in the back of their mind is screaming at them not to get any closer; freezing up their shoulders so a shiver goes down their spine. Frisk is worried, though. Sans threatens to kill them all the time, but normally he doesn’t sound so upset about it. Is he feeling OK? Does he need help?</p><p>Frisk looks solemnly into his eye sockets until he reluctantly opens them. His grin is shaky.</p><p>Whatever he’s talking about—as scary as he’s sounding right now—it seems like he’s really stressed. He doesn’t want Frisk to die. That’s probably hard enough on its own, because Frisk dies kind of a lot. He really doesn’t want monsters to leave the Underground. He’s scared. Frisk is scared, too.</p><p>They don’t know what they’re gonna find at the end of their road, and that’s probably terrifying for Sans like it is for them. So he’s saying weird stuff in this golden hallway because he’s trying to decide whether or not he feels OK about Frisk meeting the King of Monsters. It sounds like he probably doesn’t feel that OK about it. That’s alright. It’ll all work out in the end, Frisk is certain of it. Sans will see that he has nothing to worry about once they meet the King.</p><p>Frisk walks forward one final step and nudges under one of Sans’s arms so they can give him a hug around his ribcage. They squeeze tight, so he can know that they’re strong. They burrow into his coat so he can know that they trust him. They close their eyes and take a deep breath so he can know that it’s OK to relax.</p><p>Sans’s bones rattle. He makes a sound that’s a little like a hiccup. Sans is kind of allergic to hugs.</p><p>“…you’re not…making this easy on me, kiddo,” he says. His arms are held awkwardly up to avoid contact with them.</p><p>Frisk is trying to make it easier, if he would just let them hug him. They squeeze more insistently and pat him. <em>There, there</em>. They’re not really sure what saying that is supposed to do to help, but they imagine it.</p><p>It’s gonna turn out good. It’s all gonna turn out good, and everyone will be happy, and Sans will refuse to admit he was ever worried. They try to impart this certainty onto Sans.</p><p>With his bones shaking like a slammed door, Sans slumps. He lets his arms collapse onto Frisk. He holds on too tightly at their neck and the center of their back, and his claws kind of dig into their skin through their sweater.</p><p>For a long moment, Sans holds onto Frisk, and they allow themself to feel cautiously optimistic that he has finally let them help him, even without a FIGHT. Even his magic wraps around their SOUL, and they feel it turn blue.</p><p>“you just…don’t get it, do you?” Sans asks quietly. His claws dig into their skin, and Frisk makes a tiny noise of discomfort. “i don’t—you’re a tool. a sentence i’m giving <em>somebody else</em>. none of this shit is real, none of it has ever been real! i don’t give a damn about you, you annoying, saccharine brat! the only reason you’re still alive is because you won’t stop <em>coming back</em>! but you know what?”</p><p>Sans is yelling, saying things he hasn’t said since he made friends with them in Snowdin, and Frisk just holds on tighter. He’s lying. He’s just lying because he’s scared. Sans cares about them.</p><p>They’re jerked back by the scruff so that they’re dangling in front of Sans, refusing to let go of his jacket. He snarls at them, grinning meanly.</p><p>“i did it. i found a way to keep you from ever coming back to this hellhole, so don’t even try. you got that, kid? if you know what’s good for you, <em>stay gone</em>. there’s nothing here for you but death and monsters.” He laughs. Frisk’s eyes sting, even though this isn’t the cruelest thing he’s ever said to them. It’s not, so there’s no reason to be scared or sad or believe him at all.</p><p>“and, hey. kiddo?” A spark of mirth that looks a little less dead inside appears in Sans’s eyes, and Frisk tugs on his jacket, trying to tell him that they want to be put down now. Maybe their tugging looks a little like frightened squirming. The voice in the back of their head is panicking.</p><p>“if you ever do manage to crawl your way back here, well,” Sans winks his right eye. He never winks his right eye. “i’ll be waiting to take you right back out again.</p><p>Something big and white is floating behind Sans—many big, skull-like monsters. Frisk isn’t sure what’s happening—they refuse to know what’s happening.</p><p>Sans says, “In this world, it’s   k i l l    o r   b e   k i l l e d .”</p><p>Gravity shifts around them. Frisk clings to Sans’s jacket for a moment before the grip on their SOUL tears them away. Sans’s left eye is ablaze; his right is black and dead.</p><p>They feel the cold not-feeling of a shortcut and see the gaping maw of a machine they’ve never seen before in a white lab as they’re falling, falling, and they look back at Sans’s dead right eye and empty grin and sharp, glinting teeth. They shout “Sans!” with a crackling voice, reaching out for help…</p><p>For a moment they hang suspended, an instant between being lost and being saved. With Sans’s hand outstretched to control his magic, it almost looks like he’s reaching back for them. Sweat is beaded on his temples and below his eye sockets. His expression is hard but for a single, wild hope. The kind of hope that would make a person do anything.</p><p>While they’re looking at Sans, they’re not looking at his magic. A bone attack makes its home in their heart with a whistle and a <em>THUNK</em>. The force pushes them one last inch. Their teetering point collapses. They fall into the machine.</p><p>As they go, they imagine that he says, “heh. better luck in the next one, human.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I welcome thoughts on these scrapped bits--they're all part of my learning as an author, so if you disagree with my reasoning on this, let me know! Calmly and politely, please. It's good for me to think over what makes my story stronger.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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